To A New Beginning
by J.Michelle93
Summary: He found her most beautiful not when she was fancied up, but when she was lying on the carpet, her hair all up in a mess, laughing about something that happened years ago. When she wasn't trying to impress anyone, and when she had taken down the wall that she had built for most people. That's when he really, more than ever, couldn't take his eyes off of her.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter ONE**

As Kate and Dean got their equipment together for the day, the went down memory lane. They laughed and smiled about the good times that they had, growing up together in Virginia and how they made it to be trainers for the WWE despite the hard times that they had in the process. It wasn't an easy road for either one of them but they had managed to stay strong and work together to make it and here they were, working in one of the biggest sports entertainment companies in the world.

Kate was tall with long golden brown hair in a neat and elegant bun and warm hazel eyes. She had a strong jaw line and full, pink lips and perfectly shaped thick eyebrows. Kate was curvy but fit and healthy, and not minding on indulging in some of her favorite food every now and then. Dean was much taller, standing at six foot seven, and warm hazel eyes. He was fit and has always been athletic while growing up and has a strong jaw line like Kate.

A knock was heard and when they turned around, they saw Paul standing by the door with his sleeves rolled up. He looked so tired but somehow managed to stay standing on his own two feet without anyone's help. Paul sat on the table by where Kate was standing and she could smell the crisp scent that came from him. She saw the green in his eyes and his facial hair that made him look so much more attractive to him.

"My arm's been bothering me again lately and I was wondering if you can take a look at it, Dean." He said with a tired tone to his voice.

"Let's give Kate a chance to do something." Said Dean. "You can see a bit of how good she is."

Paul looked up at her and it seemed as if he almost hesitated to let her do anything before he finally agreed to let her take a look. Kate almost took it as an insult seeing as how she graduated at the top of her class and has job offerings from more than one sports company when she did so.

"I'm just going to feel a bit...tell me if anything hurts" Kate could feel the muscles in his arm when she gently touched it. Paul shakes his head and mentioned that it doesn't hurt when someone touches it.

"Are you sure she can do this, Dean?" He asked.

She scoffed. "There's a hospital thirty minutes from here. You can go there and have them check out your arm for you and you'll be there for more than hour and having to pay while you can get your arm checked out here for free. And might I add that _you're _the one that hired Dean and I about a year ago. If you think that I am not capable of doing this job, then maybe I don't belong here, don't you think?"

Giselle put down her things and stormed out, letting them hear her heels as she did. Dean then took over and started at trying to help out Paul. Him and Dean had become the best of friends and he's never seemed to notice Kate for anything and always seemed to ask for another trainer, even if she was the only one there.

"Paul, you know how good of a trainer she is." Said Dean. "You've seen her work experience as well as her education and she's one of the best here. Kate is my twin sister so I'm always going to suggest that people go to her, not because we're related but because I know better than anybody how great she is. You hired her, so don't turn her down and ignore her."

He thought for a moment. "I almost forgot that you two were related. Your personalities are completely different."

"She's very soft spoken and kind of quiet." Replied Dean. "And she's very calm and laid back and she's not a violent type of a person. I guess that doesn't really get people noticed around here but some of the superstars and divas really love her."

Later that day, Paul found Kate in catering with Kaitlyn as they were sitting and snacking on something. He sat down with them after asking if it was okay and saw Kate grow quiet.

"I'm sorry about earlier today." He told her and she kept looking in another direction. It was right there and then, when she looked his way that he noticed her eyes.

"Did my brother tell you to apologize to me?" She asked. "Or does it actually hold meaning?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I really mean that apology. I'm sorry for giving you a hard time since you got here as well. I know it isn't fair."

Kate thought for a moment. "I appreciate the apology."

"You still find a problem with me." Said Paul suddenly. Kaitlyn gave them some time alone and left.

Kate lowered her voice. "With all due respect, you have made it very clear to me that you don't like me and that you don't care for me much. Don't sit here now pretending that you do just because of my brother or whatever other reason that you find necessary when you don't even acknowledge that I'm even in the same room as you or even a few feet from you. I've put up with it from other people in the past. Just because I work for you doesn't justify it and it doesn't mean that I have to put up with it from you because I won't. I'm done putting up with it."

"I know you, Kate." Said Paul.

"No you don't. You know what you need to know for me to be employed here." Replied Kate. "Other than that, you know absolutely nothing about me so please don't act like you do. Get off your high horse and face reality. I liked you better when I started here than what I do now. You have changed and don't act like you haven't because you know you have."

0.0

"Your sister hates me." Said Paul as they were leaving the arena after the show was over.

Dean chuckled. "You don't really give her a reason to like you." He replied. "You obviously haven't noticed how you've been treating her for the past few months. Kate respects you for what you have accomplished and for giving her a chance to work with the WWE but actions speak louder than words the majority of the time. Why do you care all of a sudden anyways when you've never cared before."

Paul sighed. "I don't know. I felt something between her and I when I tried to talk to her and apologize and I can't shake that feeling away."

"Then stop being an asshole to her, Paul." Said Dean. "I'm telling you this as a friend, as well as her brother. I'm going to defend her and that means being a little rough on you to get it together when it comes to my sister. I'm not trying to be mean to you, Paul. But you want to care all of a sudden about how she feels when it comes to you and so I'm telling you something that may help. I know her better than anybody and that includes you."

Paul then realized that if he was going to have a chance at getting to know Kate, he'd have to change his attitude and his outlook on it. Continuing to act the way that he does know wasn't going to make it any better and that means re-visiting what Dean doesn't know even to this day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter TWO**

Kate was in the trainers room after finishing helping out the Nicole and Brianna, also known as the Bella Twins. She had on black dress pants, a black shirt with the WWE logo on it, black ankle boots with thick heels and had just taken off her lab coat. Cleaning up a bit until it was time for her to leave for the night, Kate heard a voice behind her. Paul was standing by the door when she turned around with his sleeves rolled up just like it was two weeks ago when he thought that she couldn't do as good a job as Dean could do when he came in to get his arm checked.

"If you're looking for Dean, he had the night off. He'll be back tomorrow." She told him and then turned around to continue what she was doing.

"I know but I was actually looking for _you."_ He replied as he walked in and closed the door behind him quietly. "I just think we need to talk."

Kate turned around to face him and leaned against the small table that she was at. "You actually want to talk to me?"

Paul looked at her seriously. "I always want to talk to you. I just never know what to say and then when I do say something, you give me a hard time about it because I always say something all messed up."

"So you treat me the way that you do because you don't know what to say to me?" She asked. "I'm a normal person, an adult. Not a child for you to have to figure out how to say something to me like I won't understand."

Paul sighed. "When you and I met, I really did think that there was something between us." _  
_

"When we met three years ago I thought the same thing, you tell me that you're going through a divorce and Stephanie was so close to finding out that you and I were hanging out that you somehow stop talking to me all together." Said Kate. "And now that I'm working here, it's as if you want nothing to do with me and now all of a sudden you want to talk to me again? If you're wondering, to this day Dean does not know about that."

"Can we please just start over?" Asked Paul and received a look in return from Kate. "I'm so sorry about that. I understand my mistake and I want to have a chance to correct it. Kate, I've wondered every damn day since I saw you again a year ago what life would have been like had I not done what I did and I regret that decision that I made every time that I do."

"Paul, you've hurt me so bad when you did that and you continue to make it look like I'm not good enough for you. If only you knew what I've been through to feel what I feel about things, but I doubt that would make much of a difference." Said Kate. "I told you before that I won't put up with it from you. I'm supposed to stand here and believe you now?"

He looked at her and didn't know what to say to make it all better between the two of them. Kate saw the look in his eyes and saw how they pleaded with hers and how much he meant it when he said that he wanted to start over and that he regret what had happened on his end. She didn't want to give him another chance, seeing as how she rarely gave people second chances. But that small piece of history that they have together told her to do otherwise. Kate understood how good it felt to get a second chance at something and have the possibility of having great wonders with it.

0.0

"Does Dean know?" Asked Natalya as they sat together for dinner that night with Kaitlyn.

Kate shook her head. "No but I also thought that I'd never see Paul again in person, let alone work with him."

The girls understood. "You want to give him a chance though. I can see it in you, Kate." Said Kaitlyn.

Kate sighed. "I just try to not go through bad things more than once. I try to learn from my mistakes to not make them again. This is not the kind of job that I want to get all messed up because of this and what other job is gonna let me have this kind of experience where I get to travel all over the world and do what I love to do?"

"Anybody would be crazy to not hire you, Kate." Said Natalya. "This won't ruin your job, we're sure of it. If you feel like giving him another chance is the right thing to do, then go ahead. There's no reason to feel bad about it doing that or feeling bad about getting along with him."

Just then, Paul walked in with one of his friends from the tech team and sat a few tables away from where she was with her two looked their way and gave Kate a small smile. After he and his friend ordered their food, Paul got up and walked over to them. He asked how they were doing and then took out his hand to shake Kate's hand.

"I'm Paul. What's your name?" He asked. She knew that this was him trying to start like he had mentioned the last time that they talked.

She hesitated as thoughts ran through her head. Finally grabbing his hand and shaking it, she spoke. "My name's Katherine. But everyone calls me Kate."

"Maybe we can spend a few minutes together tomorrow." Said Paul. "Get to know each other perhaps."

Kate nodded. "Maybe we can. We'll see what we can do."

"You're tough." Said Paul.

She smiled. "Nobody said I'd be easy. I don't see why I should be for anybody." Kate stood up and stood beside him. "Don't let me down, Paul. Not again."

"I won't." He replied as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Not with you."

He watched as she, along with Natalya and Kaitlyn, paid the bill and left. His eyes wouldn't leave her until she walked out of the door of the restaurant. Paul knew that it would be a challenge with Kate but he didn't mind. He was up for the challenge and was willing to do what he could to keep the chance that she was giving him.

Over the next few days, Kate and Paul managed to be around each other without making any negative comments towards each other. He acknowledged her presence and allowed Kate to do things for him instead of wanting Dean or someone else to do it. It allowed Kate to warm up to him more and trust him enough to let him keep that chance.

But it wasn't up to Kate now on whether he kept that chance or not. It was up to Paul himself to do what he had to do to make sure that he didn't mess up that chance. It meant a lot to Paul that she did that but also knew how careful she was trying to be. Kate was still a bit quiet here and there with him and he completely understood why.

"When you said that I didn't know you," Started Paul as he walked Kate to her car. "You meant that, didn't you?"

She arched her eyebrows. "I don't see how you can remember anything about me after three years. My personality doesn't really get me noticed around here in case you haven't realized."

"If anything about you hasn't changed, your favorite color is red. You love going to diners. This is what you always thought you'd be."

Kate turned around after putting her things in the trunk and looked at him. She wondered how he remembered that about her and then turned down such thoughts. "You still don't know everything about me."

Paul sighed. "Can you cut me some slack, Kate? I'm showing that I still remember something about you. I'm trying. Damn it, I know I messed up with you in the past all those years ago but I'm trying to take this opportunity to get somewhere with you. No sex, no hooking up...none of that. Just a better type of relationship with you because the type of relationship that you and I have at this moment is mainly you still hating me."

"I've never hated you, Paul." She said a little too quickly. "I was pissed at you for what you did, but I never hated you. After seeing that nothing was going to change, I got over it and moved on. The things I've been through in my life keep me from getting close enough to people because I don't want to get hurt, yet it happens anyways. Take the time out to understand _me, _Paul! Not just what I tell you."

"You won't let me, Katherine!" Exclaimed Paul. "So tell me how I'm supposed to do that when you have these walls built up all because you don't want to get hurt anymore. Nobody wants to get hurt, Kate. Ever. But if you let the fear of getting hurt cripple you and not allow you to have what you feel you deserve, you won't get what it is that you feel you deserve. You're already letting 'fear' win. You have people that care about you a lot. And then you have someone who wants to care about you, and who wants to understand and you won't even allow it to happen. So then why bother, Kate?"

She watched as he walked away to his car. Kate didn't want to be wrong. She felt like she had a reason for her to try to protect herself and she, as a result, not realize how much more difficult it makes it for others to try and show her that there are decent people out there in this world who won't cause harm. If Kate was going to give Paul a chance, she knew that she had to stick by her word just like she always does. But when that means a possibility of getting hurt again like she always had happen to her, throughout her whole life, her mind shuts down, not wanting to go through it again.

But what's keeping her moving forward with this is that her heart is telling her to go on and to stay strong. There are times when one has to pass through the storm before finding a sunny day and Kate knew that it was something that she had do to. Taking her walls down would not be an easy thing for her, but she swore to herself on more than one occasion that if the right person ever came along, she would do such thing and so she wondered.

Was Paul the right person to do such thing for? Was she doing the right thing?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter** **THREE **

Paul had just finishing laying down on the bed in his hotel room when he heard a knock. He groaned not wanting to get up but he did anyways and answered the door. Paul opened it without asking who it was and saw Kate standing on the other side with blue jeans, a grey short sleeve shirt, flats and her long wavy hair out from it's normal slicked back bun that she usually has it in. Her hazel eyes pierced through his but still warm. She had a box of pizza in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other.

"Want some pizza?" She asked.

Paul nodded and stepped aside to let her in. He closed the door behind him and followed her until she walked up to the table and put the pizza down. He put the soda in the fridge to keep it cold while they took out the plates and got out the pizza.

"This is a nice surprise." Said Paul as they sat and ate.

Kate smiled and looked down. "I wanted to see you, so here I am."

After talking about random things for the next hour, they realized how fast time had gone by. Paul and Kate both realized, without saying it out loud, how much they wanted to spend more time together. They were both surprised at how comfortable they were with each other and how easy it was to have a conversation and be able to hold it for as long as they have tonight. Then Paul asked if there's something that a lot of people didn't know about her.

"I was engaged before." Said Kate after thinking about it.

Paul looked at her in surprise. "What happened?"

She sighed. "We met when we were in high school, but we didn't start dating until our junior year. His name was Derek and he was a nice guy and on the football team. But he always got good grades and got along with a lot of people and just about everybody liked him. We went to the same university and he was a college football star and one of the best players on the team. When we were both about twenty, he proposed to me and I, of course, said yes."

"You were in love with the guy, though so I understand that." Said Paul.

Kate gave him a small smile. "A month later, we start planning the wedding while trying to keep doing good in school. That summer was the one of the best summers that I've ever had. We spent a lot of time together and things were going great. We were going to get married a few weeks before the next school year started. We would have both been twenty-one. But the day before the wedding was when everything changed. Him and I had this summer house near the beach and I went back to get a few of my things that I needed before going back to the hotel. When I walked in, I caught Derek in bed with my best friend. They said it wasn't what it looked like but what do you call it when you see the person that you're about to marry in bed with your best friend?"

"I called off the wedding immediately, right there on the spot." She continued. "I ended our relationship and I cut all ties with him and my best friend after also finding out that it was going on for months. I haven't seen or talked to either one of them since. News on them is that they stayed together and they're now married with two kids and he wasn't able to become a professional football player because of an injury that forced him to stop playing."

"I'm sorry." Said Paul, quietly.

Kate shook her head. "It's fine. But it made me feel like I wasn't good enough. It made me think that if I _was_ good enough, that he wouldn't have cheated on me. That Derek wouldn't have gone to another person's arms to find what he felt that he needed because he felt that I may not be able to give it to him. What guy these days wants a female who's had a failed engagement by the age of twenty-one and someone who travels all over the world and who's on the road for weeks at a time before getting a chance to go back home while he sits there at home waiting for me to return? How do I know that he won't get tired of it and run into another woman's arms because I'm not there as much as he would like me to be?"

Paul pulled his chair towards her so that he can sit closer. "I feel the same way about that sometimes. What woman would want a man who already has one failed marriage under his belt? A man who travels and is on the road for so many days at a time and she has to just sit there and do what she does while she waits for me to come so that we can physically be together because phone calls and video chats may not always be enough to satisfy what's needed and what's wanted."

"And you feel as if people that you meet who aren't in this business, don't want someone who is because they just don't want to deal with that." Added Kate.

"Exactly and you feel more comfortable with someone who understands." Said Paul. "They understand what's it like to always be on the road and to wish they were home more often a lot of times."

They had shared an understanding and then a moment when Paul's green eyes met Kate's hazel eyes. They had finally managed to spend time together without being at each other's throats and they had begun to enjoy each other's company as well as their conversations.

"What can I do to convince you to stay a little longer tonight?" asked Paul.

Kate gave him a genuine smile and Paul loved to see it. "I don't know. But maybe if we can keep getting along like this and having great conversations, maybe I can be convinced to stay."

"You're still not going to be easy, are you?" He asked with a smile.

She shook her head. "Not any time soon."

0.0

"Where's Kate?" Asked Paul when he went into the trainers room after a RAW event. Dean was cleaning up after everyone had gone home.

He looked up to see Paul standing by the door and looking around. "Kate's just getting some water. She already finished up with everything that she needed to do for the night. She's a fast worker."

Paul nodded. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about how I treated her before. I didn't mean to be an asshole to Kate."

"It's alright." Replied Dean. "Just don't treat her like that again. I will defend her when she gets treated like crap by a guy, no matter how good of a friend they are to me. At the end of the day, Kate's still my sister. Always has been and always will be."

"Everything okay?" Asked a voice that came from the door. They both looked back and saw that Kate was walking in with a bottle of water. Her long hair was slicked back into a neat ponytail and she looked tall and elegant, but tired.

They nodded. "Paul was asking for you." Said Dean as he got his things together to leave. Kate looked up at Paul and tried to hide her smile when she did. Dean had known that they were trying to get along but he still didn't know the history that Paul and Kate had between them. Dean didn't know that they had met three years ago and that memories had resurfaced when she started working here.

While they tried to close up all loose ends from the past, Kate and Paul had finally gotten complete closure about what all had happened between the two of them and they were getting better at getting along with each other as each day passed.

After Dean had left, Paul closed the door behind him after making sure that nobody else was around to interrupt them. Kate gave him a look as if asking what was going on but he didn't answer. She sat down on the table and crossed her legs while she rested her chin on her hand and gave him a smile.

"I was actually going to see you when we got back to the hotel." Said Kate before Paul said anything She saw the smile in his eyes before he replied.

"Grab some late night dinner with me tonight." He said.

This took Kate by surprise, seeing as how she did not expect this from Paul. He's the last person, actually, that she expected this from. Kate didn't know what to say or think about it. It was more of a statement kind of invitation rather than a question. She didn't think that it would make a difference either way after some thought.

"Do I have a choice?" She asked. Paul nodded and she smiled. "So where are we going?"

He thought for a moment, not expecting her to want to go with him. Paul then thought of the small diner that he passed on his way to the arena tonight from the hotel that a lot of them were staying in for the night. He helped Kate get her things together and they left. They saw Dean waiting for Kate in the parking lot, seeing as how they were both using the same car this time around because of having traveled here together.

Paul had explained to him that he wanted to talk to Kate about something and that he would explain everything to Dean, the next time that they saw each other. He could tell the slight hesitation from Dean, seeing as how since the day that he started working here with his sister, Paul hasn't been the best person to her and he wanted to protect her. And Paul understood that but assured him that it was going to be different from now on and promised Dean of that.

0.0

After getting everything settled, Kate was sitting across from Paul in the diner that he had taken her too and she was eating her usual fries with a burger. She couldn't explain it but there was just something about diners that she absolutely loved ever since she was a little girl. Kate would go to diners with her brother and her grandparents every Sunday after church and she couldn't get enough of it.

"I wanted to tell you something." Said Paul, in between bites. She put a hundred percent of her attention back to him to hear what he had to say. "I can't stop thinking about you or our conversations."

Kate looked up at him when she heard him say that and stopped what she was doing with her food. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not saying that we have to date or anything like that." He responded. "I'm just saying that I enjoy our conversations and I can't stop thinking about them and I would like for it to keep going. I know I may not be making a lot of sense right now, but I thought I should say that."

Kate took a sip of her soda and felt something inside her when he said that. She had come to know him more, these last few days, than she thought she ever would since the day that her and Paul saw each other again a year ago. Kate couldn't explain what it was that she felt, for she didn't know exactly what that was. She just knew that she felt something and it wouldn't go away. A part of her didn't want it to, but the other part may have because Kate didn't know for sure what it was that this feeling is.

Kate agreed with Paul though. She wanted it to keep going. The long conversations that they had. The time spent together having those conversations because she was enjoying his company whenever they were together. The comfort that Kate felt with Paul whenever he was around and just how at ease she was with him. She managed to trust him enough to tell him things that she usually doesn't tell anyone else because of how hurt it made her feel when it all happened to her and how others reacted when she did tell them. Paul was showing her that he was different and that he really is trying to show her his good side.

And she was going to continue to let it happen because now, at this point, she wondered what it would be like if she hadn't given him another chance.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter FOUR**

After RAW had gone off the air, all Kate saw on the screen backstage was Paul laid out in the middle of the ring with Daniel Bryan continuing to celebrate. Once he had left and went backstage, she saw the physician that sits ringside get into the ring to check on Paul, seeing as he still hadn't moved. He had radioed for more people to come and help.

Kate had suddenly begun to feel antsy while she watched as they tried to help out Paul. She didn't realize that Natalya and Kaitlyn had begun to notice that as well as the look on her face. She heard Dean's voice beside her and put her attention back to everything else that was going on after what seemed like forever as they were able to get Paul on his feet and backstage.

"He's asking for you." Dean said. "They're going to take him to the trainer's room so that he can be checked on. But he wants you there."

Kate put all thoughts aside and went to the trainers room where she heard Paul asking where she was. They all told him that he needed to try to stay calm but they weren't going to see that happen with how stubborn Paul can get at times. She managed to wedge herself in between all of them and get to him.

"Hey, I'm right here." Kate said as she rested her hand on his shoulder and felt him calm down slightly. "Can everybody stop crowding him?" She exclaimed. "Give him some room to breathe."

The referees backed up a bit and so did the two physicians that were there. "If we haven't checking his vitals, let's get it done _now, _and I'll check to see if everything else is okay." Kate helped him sit up and cupped his face in her hands. "Paul, you have to stop moving your head okay?."

She took out a small light and told him to look at the wall behind her while she checked his pupils and how they reacted with the light. Kate put up a few fingers to see how well Paul could see and saw that his vitals were normal. When they all started asking him questions, she heard him let out a small growl.

"No! I want Katherine to help me right now. That's the only person I want right now."

Kate looked at him and almost protested but then saw the look in his eyes that made her melt and think otherwise. They all left and closed the door behind them, leaving the two of them alone. She got an ice bag and put it on the spot where he got punched to try to prevent so much swelling, if any.

She asked him some questions to see if there were any signs of a concussion. "Do you remember anything that happened before you got here?"

"I was in the ring..."He started off saying. "And then I remember just blacking out and then waking up to find all of them around me. Then I started asking for you."

She looked into his eyes. "Why do you want me to help you out right now when you've never wanted me to help you before?"

Without hesitating, he answered her question. "I doubted you ever since you got here because of what happened between you and I those years ago. After getting to know you the way that I do know, I don't want to do that again. I know I play this asshole type of a person on television but you know how I really am behind the scenes. Hell we've hung out almost every night for the past few weeks and I trust you more than a lot of people already."

"Paul, I trust you." Kate said. "I really do. I just want to make sure that you're feeling what you feel about me for the right reasons. Not because of your wanting to please other people because what I'm feeling for you, I can't explain it. I don't know why I feel like this about you. Paul, I look at you and if I catch you smiling at me, I can feel those little butterflies in my stomach. The moments when we're able to spend time together are my favorites because I get to see you for you. Not as the Chief Operating Officer of the WWE, not as the businessman that you have to be, but as _you. _The you that I enjoy seeing every single time that I look at you. The Paul that I enjoy being with every time that we're together and I don't know why. That's the Paul that I like. The one who listens to me and understands me even if I'm not making any sense. I let my walls down for _you _when I'm terrified of letting them down for other people."

"But you're still scared that I'll do to you the same thing that I did the last time." Finished Paul.

Kate nodded and stepped away from him to get more ice for his ice bag. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his hands on her waist, not hearing when he got off the table. Kate smelled the crisp scent of his when he moved and took it in. It felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest with how hard it was beating and she lost her concentration when he put his hands over hers.

"I don't care about what Stephanie thinks anymore when it comes to me and my personal life." He said near her ear. "I care more about you. You know me better with the small history that we have together than she ever has in the over ten years that she's known me. I've changed a lot the last three years and you know that. We spend almost every day together. But I don't want you to be scared of anything that has to do with you and I. I won't put you through that again, Kate. Please believe me when I say that."

She turned around and looked up at him. Kate sighed happily taking in his scent and getting lost in his eyes and then looked back down to her hands. She thought for a moment, not wanting to be out of his grasp and not wanting this feeling to end. Kate was realizing what it was that she was feeling but she was afraid to admit it and come to terms with it.

"So, are we going to see where this goes?"

Paul nodded. "And it'll be one day at a time if that makes it easier. We won't have to rush it."

About fifteen minutes later, Kate walked out to find Stephanie standing there waiting with her arms crossed. Paul's best friend, Shawn, was there with her as he was one of the three men who were chosen as options for a match at one of the upcoming pay-per-views. They obviously wanted to know if he was okay.

"Paul will be fine. I'm sure of it." Said Kate to both of them. "We'll have to do some more testing on him which we'll try tomorrow. He has a bit of a headache and so far he's still able to remember a lot of things from tonight. Tomorrow, before the Smackdown taping starts, we'll ask him a few more questions to see if he still remembers and perform an Impact Test if able and if needed, depending on what we observe from him tomorrow. Until them, he needs to rest. No strenuous activity at all, whatsoever. Paul needs to take it easy for now."

They both nodded. Shawn seemed to relax knowing that his best friend would be okay while Stephanie kept her arms crossed and with a serious look on her face.

"Why is it that Paul wanted you and only you to care for him?" She asked.

Kate didn't know what to say or what to think about the question. She wasn't expecting Stephanie to ask why Paul only wanted Kate to care for him tonight and didn't really expect her to care seeing as how they were no longer together and hadn't been together for a few years now. Looking at Stephanie, Kate saw that she was about an inch or two taller than Stephanie and though Kate was a bit more quiet and laid back than Stephanie was, they were both just as ballsy as the other and not afraid to stand up to anybody.

"I don't know how to answer that, Ms. McMahon." Kate replied. "I just know that I did my job."

"You're a physician?" She asked almost in disbelief that a trainer could know anything about being a physician.

Kate responded. "I'm doing my residency as a physician. I have about a month left in that. But I've earned my degree as a trainer and right after that, I started right away in Medical school and did the four semester a year program as a full time student, helping me finish faster."

Stephanie looked at her carefully. "You look pretty young."

Kate just gave her a small smile and didn't know if she should take that as a compliment or not and then heard someone's footsteps behind her. Kate turned around to see Paul walking out of the trainers room, shaking his head.

"Paul, please stop shaking your head like that." Said Kate as she walked up to him to make sure he was okay. "You're going to give yourself more of a headache if you keep doing that and we need to give you some more tests tomorrow."

He talked to Kate for a few minutes before turning his attention to Stephanie and Shawn as she went back in the room to clean up and leave for the night. She had a flight to catch early in about two hours for tomorrow and then giving Paul some more tests and some other things that she had to get together for the rest of the week.

She wasn't going to waste any more time seeing as how she was done for the night. After getting her things, she met up with Kaitlyn and Natalya to head back to the hotel to finish getting their things before heading to their flight. Those two have become her best friends since she started working here and she didn't want to lose their friendship for anything. Kate had shared almost everything with them and this time it wouldn't be any different. Kate didn't know who else to turn to for advice when it ca me to Paul. She knew how protective Dean would get and that he wouldn't be much help in the advice department.

As the three of them were leaving to the airport, they saw Shawn walking towards them. He looked calm as he walked with his hands in his pockets and his hat still on from earlier in the night. Kate was always a fan of Shawn ever since she started watching him wrestle when she was younger. Now she gets to meet him every time he's around and gets to see the goofy side of Paul whenever those two are together.

"Is Paul okay?" She found herself suddenly asking before he could even say anything.

Shawn nodded. "He's fine. He just wants to talk to you for a bit."

Kate looked at her watch and then at the girls. "You two go ahead. I'll meet you in the airport."

She followed Shawn to his room and saw that he was rooming with Paul so she knew he would be in good hands for the night. Paul walked out of the bathroom in nothing but sweatpants on and a wife beater. As many times as she's seen him on television with his wrestling gear on that reveled much more of his body, she's never seen it in person. Kate couldn't believe how physically attracted she was to him and how she couldn't look away but got herself together to pay attention to what she needed to.

"Are you feeling nauseous?" She asked him. Paul nodded and went to lay down on his bed. He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. Kate put her things down and sat next to him. "Can you still remember anything from tonight?"

Paul took a moment before saying anything. "All I remember now is things just going black and then going to the trainers room and asking for you."

Kate checked him out as much as she could with the little bit that she had with her and knew that he could possibly have a concussion. "You may have a concussion. When we give you tests tomorrow, they'll make sure and see how severe it is. By the looks of it, it should be a mild case. Nevertheless, please no physical activity that'll be strenuous on you, okay? You need to rest."

"Stay with me tonight." Paul said.

Kate looked at him surprised. "I have a plane to catch tonight for Smackdown tomorrow."

Paul shook his head but Kate stopped him when she cupped his face in her hands. "I'll take you tomorrow in my plane. Just stay with me. Stay with us."

She looked up at Shawn with no idea what to say or think while he just shrugged not knowing what to say either. "Where am I supposed to sleep, I'm already checked out."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter FIVE **

"Do you know what's going on between Paul and my sister?" Asked Dean when he saw Natalya and Kaitlyn talking backstage.

After Paul was checked out further on Tuesday, it was confirmed that he had a concussion but that it was a mild case of it. He was still advised to go home and get as much rest as possible before having an Impact Test performed on him when the time went home but he still called to make sure that everything was okay and still tried to do some work back in Connecticut at the WWE headquarters while Kate was then given the rest of the week off. Paul was also advised to go to a doctor when he got back to Connecticut because of complaints that he was giving about his jaw saying that it was in pain and when even more tests were done for his jaw, it was noted that something was very wrong with his jaw.

"No." Answered Natalya. "They're just friends. She would have said something to us if it was anything more than that. Why?"

Dean shrugged. "I know they've been trying to get along lately but they seem to be getting along a little bit too well. It could just be my imagination."

Kaitlyn then responded. "It's better than having them hate each other and Kate suffering professionally because of it and we like the two of them being friends. Paul can actually be a nice guy. Did someone say something about them though?"

"I've heard Stephanie asking if there's anything going on between them because the night that he got knocked out by Show, all he wanted was for Kate to care for him and not anybody else and he allowed her to call him by his first name." Replied Dean.

Natalya scoffed. "There's a lot of people who call Paul by his first name. And there's even people who call her by her first name as well so I don't see what the problem is on that."

"Maybe there's something behind it." Said Kaitlyn. "Kate is younger than Stephanie. She's also taller but more attractive as well and a lot of brains and is able to back up her actions better than a lot of people that I've seen try. Stephanie's a smart business woman and she knows what she's doing, I'll give her that. But Kate is smart as hell too and not afraid to stand up to anyone even though she's more of a laid back type of a person. And maybe...I'm not saying that it's true...but it's possible that she thinks that something's going on and is asking people to see if anyone will confirm what she's thinking."

Dean agreed when he saw a point in what they were saying. "Maybe it's just my imagination that's thinking these things."

The girls sighed before Natalya spoke. "We understand that you're her brother and that you want her to be okay and that you don't want her to get hurt, especially by a guy. But Kate is also an adult who's capable of making her own decisions. I'm sure she appreciate's you wanting to protecting her and wanting her to be happy but sometimes we have to let the people that we love do things on their own and allow them to learn from it no matter how much we want to help them."

"And if there really is anything going on between Kate and Paul romantically, whether it's now or later on down the road, it's their decision." Added Kaitlyn. "You can't blame someone for falling for another person when one can't control what and who it is that the heart wants. You said it yourself that when you and your fiance started dating, Kate didn't like her to much but they grew to like each other and they're now friends. We know that Paul may not have been the best person towards Kate when she first got here, but we can't shelter her from him when they work together and see each other almost everyday. Especially now that they're friends."

Dean knew that they had a point, he just wished that Kate would open up to people more about things. He knew how sheltered she made herself be, wanting to be private and not letting her walls down to people and he didn't push her to do it. Kate fights back when she feels like she needs to and a lot of people did not win no matter how hard they tried.

0.0

Kate returned from her week off and saw that she didn't miss much backstage. She saw the usual people walking around backstage, getting things ready and the superstars and Divas that were already there and getting ready for the night. Getting to the trainers room, she saw Natalya and Kaitlyn with Dean and raised her eyebrows.

"Sister!" Dean said with the same mischievous smile and playful tone that he would always give her growing up after not seeing each other for a while, even if it was just a whole day.

"Brother!" She exclaimed as she went to hug him and her two best friends.

Kaitlyn played with Kate's hair since she let it out today, showing her long and wavy golden brown hair that reached just an inch or two above her bottom. She rarely let it out but didn't have enough time to put it up seeing as how she started getting ready late to get to the arena. Kate had on her dark red lipstick, and decided to go natural with her makeup, but her beauty still hadn't changed.

"So how's Paul?" Asked Dean as they all sat down after Kate got her things ready.

"Paul's still trying to get better from his concussion and it's said that he has a broken jaw." Answered Kate.

Kaitlyn's jaw dropped. "His jaw's broken? I didn't think it was that serious, we just thought it was part of the storyline."

She shrugged. "As far as I know, that wasn't part of it. In case anyone hasn't noticed, it took Paul three minutes and thirty-one seconds to wake up from that punch that Paul...Show...gave him. If it was scripted, why did it take him that long to wake up while other wrestlers who have been knocked out by him rarely have that happen and they don't get their jaws broken. Paul...COO Paul, reportedly declined an interview with Michael because of it. Remember that in the Extreme Rulers pay-per-view, he injured his jaw but it wasn't broken."

"How long will it take until he comes back?" They asked.

"His jaw may need to be wired shut and if so then that'll take about six weeks." Replied Kate. "And if nothing happens that delays his recovery, than after six weeks his jaw should be back to normal. After that time he'll also have to go to the dentist if any of his teeth were damaged and until then he has to stick to a liquid diet. With his concussion, I doubt his doctors will allow him to work out and I literally have no idea if Paul will show up at all in that time period. He's been advised to not go on the road because of his injury."

Dean looked at her curiously and Kate gave him the same look. "How do you know what his doctors said to him and what he may need?"

"I went to Med School, remember?" Asked Kate. "And you and I had just about every single class together when we went to get our Master's to be trainers...and he may have emailed me about it."

"Why is he emailing you?" Asked Dean.

Kate arched an eyebrow. "We're friends. I didn't know that it was illegal for friends to email each other and don't go asking about us being friends when you were the one who told me that I should give him a chance to get to know him better and now that I did, you have a problem with it."

"Because of how he treated you since the day that you got here."

"Then you shouldn't have said to give him a chance!" She exclaimed. "But now that I have, I'm not gonna just drop him like the time that him and I have spent getting to know each other hasn't meant anything to me because it has. I listened to you when you told me a few months ago to give him a chance because the two of you are friends. Don't change your thought of him now just because I'm getting along with him, Dean. I know you don't want me to get hurt, but you can't tell me who I can and can't talk to."

"I didn't think you'd like him though." Said Dean.

Kate scoffed. "First of all, who said anything about me liking Paul in that way? Second of all, you didn't tell me that you liked your fiance in that way until the two of you started dating so you have no right to say anything about who I like and how I go about doing it, let alone if I don't tell you, so don't think that I'll be listening to you when you go on little rants about it. The next time you decide to want to be all in my business like this, think twice because you know I'll push back."

She got up from her seat and walked out of the room without saying a word to anyone or even looking back. Kate didn't think that Dean had a right to say that she couldn't talk to someone and get along with them just because he didn't like how Paul always treated her when he was the one who told her a few months ago to give Paul a chance. Now that Kate has given him a chance, every moment that her and Paul have spent together has meant something to her and each time it was something more. It was something that Kate couldn't deny and she knew it.

Now that Paul would be gone for about six weeks, she didn't know how to feel. Kate just knew that she missed him and would miss seeing him everyday and hearing his voice and seeing that smile that would make the crinkle near his eyes that she was beginning to like a lot. Just as she was thinking about Paul, like she found herself doing a lot of lately, she found herself with Stephanie who now had her attention towards Kate.

"Ms. Wesley, I would like to see you in my office." Said Stephanie in a tone that made Kate feel like she was in trouble all over again like in school with her brother.

Kate followed her nonetheless into her office and took a seat after closing the door behind her. She crossed her long legs and sat up straight. Her mood had been dampened by her conversation with her brother and that made Kate slightly annoyed and not wanting to put up with a lot of things at the moment.

"What do you do on your days off?" Asked Stephanie.

Kate thought for a moment, wondering why she of all people would care about what she does on her days off. "I do my residency at the hospital affiliated with my school."

Stephanie nodded. "And how's that going?"

"It's going great." She replied. "Just a lot of long hours and being on my feet a lot but it's going good."

"Are you licensed yet?"

Kate took her time before answering. "After I officially complete my residency I will be taking exams to become licensed and board certified. Right now I'm on a permit that allows me to practice."

"I see." Said Stephanie. "We would like to offer you something. That something would be you working here in the WWE as a physician. But you have to complete your residency and become licensed and show proof that you are before we can promote you to that position. Until then, you can practice here as well under the supervision of a licensed physician. You can use that opportunity to improve on any areas you feel that you need to work on and improve in general to show your professors and the doctors that you work under that you're practicing and that you're learning. While you're at it, you can alternate back and forth between trainer and physician since you already have your degree and a lot more experience as a trainer. Until we're able to promote you, your position in this company will continue to be as a trainer. Is that something that you'll accept?"

Kate didn't hesitate on her answer. "Yes. I accept it completely."

Stephanie smiled at her. "Good. I let Dr. Sampson know of the offer and he's perfectly fine with it. You just have to let him know that you'll be starting as of tomorrow. You have to improve though because if I see that you're not improving or if I receive bad reviews from anyone for you as a physician, I won't allow you to continue practicing it here and we won't promote you even when you get licensed. If you really want this, then do a good job. Be at your best."

"Thank you." Kate replied. "And I will do my best."

They shook hands and Kate walked out the door. She was excited that something good was happening for her here and just in general. Her and Dean have had such a rough childhood, that she didn't wish that on anyone else. She felt a hand on her waist when she was in catering and turned around to see Paul standing behind her. She smiled widely and hugged him, happy to see that he was there. Paul automatically wrapped his arms around her as they allowed the hug to linger.

"I have some good news." She told him in his ear. He pulled back and looked at her like he missed her and didn't want to let her go. It made Kate melt when she saw the look in his eyes and stayed in his arms, still happy to see him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter SIX**

Stephanie waited in her office for one of the wrestlers from the main roster to come into her office. When she heard a knock, she looked up and saw that it was Johnathan Good, who's better known for his ring-name Dean Ambrose. He took a seat across from Stephanie after he closed the door behind him for the two to have more privacy.

"Do you know of Katherine Wesley, or Kate?" Asked Stephanie.

Johnathan thought for a moment. "Yeah, she's a trainer here isn't she?"

Stephanie nodded. "Yes and she's working on becoming a physician here. But now that I see that you know her, what I wanted to ask you was what you knew about her, personally."

Johnathan took a moment. "I know that she has a brother who works here too and that they're fraternal twins. She's always wearing something that's red, so I assume her that's her favorite color and she graduated from medical school. Kate's really nice and gets along with everybody but that's all I know about her. That and the fact that she's a bit on the more private side."

"Why would she be a private person?" Asked Stephanie.

He shrugged. "There's people out there who are private people. It doesn't mean that they're bad people, that's just how they are. They're not going to always share their business and be open about everything that goes on in their life. I doubt that Kate's a bad person and that she would ever do something bad. Everybody here loves her. Did something happen?"

"I've just realized that her and Paul have been very friendly for the past few months." She replied.

Johnathan looked at her curiously. "A lot of people here are friendly with the opposite sex. It never means anything the majority of the time because they're strictly, just friends. Even if something was going on between her and Paul of that kind, it's between them. I don't really like getting into anyone's business like that when it involves romantic relations."

Stephanie let out a deep sigh. "You, as well as a lot of the people here know about the past between Paul and I. All I want to do is see if there's a possibility of another chance between him and I again. Maybe the second time around, we can make it work and make it last longer than the first time."

"And you don't want to compete with another woman to get his attention and get him back." Said Johnathan.

She looked at him. "It's not that. I don't mind it if it's something that I have to do. I just know that I have a lot of competition if it's with Kate. He drools over her every time I see him looking at her. There's something about Kate that he can't seem to get enough of and with me wanting to see if there's another chance between him and I, it kills me. I just need to know more about her."

"You have to know where to look and who to get the information from." He replied. "You can't go to her or her brother because you may not get what you want from them and what you do get may not help you. Stephanie, you'll need to ask someone who not only knows enough to help you, but that someone needs to be willing to tell you because if they know her, then they'll know just how private she is with things and who knows how that alone can affect what they tell you. Besides, you two have that kiss that you need to do on RAW tonight. If there's a chance left, there will be something felt in that kiss."

0.0

"Why have the two of you been arguing for the past week?" Asked Natalya to Kate while they ate lunch. They were joined by Phil who is known by his ring name, CM Punk. "Is it because of Paul having to kiss Stephanie tonight on Raw?"

Kate shook her head. "It has nothing to do with that."

"But you care about it." Said Phil. She looked at him with a serious face. "We know you very well, Kate. Don't act like you don't care that he has to kiss her because you do. It's written all over your face when we talk about it and don't fight it and try to contradict it as if Nattie and I can't tell that you two like each other."

She sighed. "I don't know. I don't want to believe that our arguments have been because of that but a part of me knows that the kiss has everything to do with it, at least on my end. Paul doesn't even know how I feel about him and I don't know how he feels about me. But I do know that I don't want the same thing that happened all those years ago between him and I to happen all over again. And with the bad luck that I have with guys in the relationship department, I get a bit cautious."

"Paul's a smart guy." Said Phil. "I don't believe that he'll do that again, not with you. Trust me, he won't. It's okay to be cautious."

Later that day, Phil and Kate were backstage watching the segment between Stephanie and Paul in their office with The Shield as they talked about their match with the Rhodes brothers later that night. When they left, she saw Stephanie and Paul share a kiss. Kate felt something inside her that made her face feel like it was on fire. She didn't want to believe that it was jealousy because Kate was never the kind of person to feel like that towards anybody. Kate was content with the things that she had in this point of her life and found no reason for jealousy towards others.

When deciding that she couldn't keep watching, Phil followed her to the trainer's room. They both sat on the tables across from each other. "Kate, you should tell him how you feel even if you don't expect anything to happen between the two of you."

"Phil, the last time that I told a guy how I felt about him, he made me feel like I had a chance with him. As if something good would come out of it even if it didn't last long. He asked to hang out with me for my birthday, but the day before my birthday when he was supposed to let me know of our plans so that we could confirm it, he never contacted me. He never told me 'happy birthday' and he never talked to me again. I haven't heard from him or seen him again since." Said Kate. "Now I work with Paul's ex-wife. Someone that he has more history with than me. How am I supposed to compete with Stephanie?"

"You don't have to compete with her, Kate." Phil told her. "You have already won without even trying. Give yourself a break. Give yourself a chance."

They heard a knock on the door and Phil went to answer it. He opened it to see Paul standing in front of him with his hands in his pockets with his suit jacket tucked in one arm and his shirt still messy from when he went to the ring after the Rhodes brothers won the match and became new Tag Team Champions because of Paul (Big Show) interference in the no disqualification match against The Shield. "Is Kate there? I want to talk to her."

"I'll give you two some privacy." He replied as he walked out after telling her that they'll talk later. "By the way, Paul?"

He looked back before going in while Phil walked up to him to prevent talking loud enough for others to hear. "You don't get it do you? The way that Kate looks at you is so different than how she looks at any other guy. You're a smart guy. Figure out what that means before it's too late."

Paul looked at him as he walked away and then turned his attention to Kate who was sitting down inside. He closed the door behind him and leaned in to kiss her cheek like he's usually been doing the last few weeks. Kate smiled slightly when she felt his lips on her cheek and looked up at him when he pulled back and admired how attractive she thought he looked tonight and at this very moment as he stood in front of her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I think I'm just getting a bad headache tonight is all."

Paul cupped her chin and looked into her warm, hazel eyes. He knew that it was more than just a headache and Kate knew that he had an idea that it was more than that. "Let me take you to get something to eat and then I'll take you back to the hotel if you'd like."

She loved how this side of Paul gave her small butterflies in her stomach because she liked seeing this side of him. Kate was tempted to say yes but then the kiss that she saw him share with Stephanie came back to her mind. She didn't want to bring it up because she didn't want them to argue again about what seemed like the same thing that they have been arguing about all week but Kate knew that she had to tell Paul how she felt. Kate couldn't continue seeing Paul interact with Stephanie in that manner and behave as if it doesn't bother her in any way when it does because of her feelings for him.

"I want you to end up staying with me though." She heard herself say quietly as she looked down, not wanting to see his reaction to what she had just said.

Paul put his suit jacket down beside her and put his hands on her arms as he looked into her eyes. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Kate's heart skipped a beat when he called her that, but it was music to her ears. Paul has never called her that before now. It had always been 'Kate' or 'Kat'. Never any of those kinds of nicknames.

"I know that sounds self-fish, but...I wanna be the one that you kiss all the time." She admitted, softly. "Not you kissing someone else."

The look of realization on Paul's face made her feel better about telling but also made Kate feel bad because she didn't want to ruin the friendship that they had and they were getting along so well. "Why didn't you tell me before? I would have tried to change that part of the segment and is that why you've seemed upset the past few days?"

Kate shrugged as she felt a lump in her throat. "The last time I told a guy how I felt about him, I got hurt, I never heard from him or seen him again, and I don't want that to happen to me again. All these feelings that I have for you...I don't want you kissing another woman because I want you to kiss me. I want you to be with me and I'm afraid that I'm going to lose you to someone else without you ever knowing or caring about how I feel. Paul, I want and need _you _more each time, and I hope that you want and need _me _too."

"I want and need you more than anyone knows or thinks." Said Paul. "That kiss between Stephanie and I tonight meant nothing to me because I all I could think about was you. All I could think about was the fact that I wanted to be kissing you at that moment just like I want to kiss you right now and every single time that I'm with you or even when I just see a glance of you because I want _you. _Kate, you're the one that I want to call mine every single day. You're the one that I look forward to seeing everyday, even when I know that you're going to be home because you have the day off. The one I look forward to having my conversations with. I don't want anyone else. Any segment that I have in where I have to be in that way with Stephanie, I will gladly change it for you. You're more important to me than anything."

Someone barged into the trainers room right when Kate was going to respond and she knew that it made Paul pissed off when she saw the look on his face when it happened. She rested her hand over one of his and saw him calm down slightly.

"I'm in the middle of something very important right now. Can it wait until tomorrow?" Asked Paul. "And who's never heard of knocking?"

The guy that came in started to stutter as he tried to get his words together. "Stephanie needs you right away, Sir."

Kate got annoyed at the mention of her name and sighed as she got down from the table. She grabbed Paul's suit jacket and handed it to him as she walked away to get her bags. She turned around to see him wanting to say something.

"Don't, Paul." Kate said. "Just go see what she wants. I'll grab something to eat on the way back to the hotel and I'll call someone to pick me up from the airport tomorrow when I get back to Virginia. I'll be fine."

"Kate..."

"Just go!" She exclaimed. "I'm tired of not being good enough for someone. I'm tired of coming in second because of whatever reason. Either you feel the same things for me or you don't. But if you do, then show me and don't make me your second option because I'm either your first and only option or I'm nothing to and for you. Don't make me regret trying to tell you that I'm falling for you because it's taking every ounce of me to get the courage to say it to you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter SEVEN **

Kate laid in bed, in her hotel room with Nattie and Phil, eating some ice cream as her desert after taking a shower. She laid in her pajamas which were black leggings and a beige over sized shirt that was off the shoulder, showing the tattoo that she had on the back of her left shoulder.

She kept replaying the scene over in her head about what had happened earlier in the night with Paul and it made Kate want to cry because it made her think that may have messed up what they had, no matter what he said. Yes, he said that he wanted her but she needed to believe it and the only way that she could after everything that's been through when it comes to love, is by being shown that it's true and that it really holds meaning to him just as much as it would to her.

"I just got a text saying that Paul is pissed." Said Phil.

"Does it say why?" Asked Nattie.

He shook his head. "It just says that they heard him arguing with Stephanie and that he stormed out saying that he needed to look for someone. Then it says that they saw him at the bar nearby when they went to get some drinks and that Paul got into a fight."

Just as he said that, Kate got a text and when she picked up her phone and saw that it was from Paul. Unlocking her phone, she opened up the text to see what it said, though she slightly debated on whether or not she should read it. But after Phil saying that Paul got into a fight, she wanted to see what he had to say to her.

_'Kate, I really do need and want you. Please give me a chance. Let me show you that what I said is true. Please let me talk to you. -Paul'_

After finishing her ice cream, Kate looked at the time and saw that it was a little past one in the morning. It had started to rain outside. Her heart was telling her to go see Paul and see if he was okay and to hear what he had to tell her. But she tried to come up with reasons on why she shouldn't. In the end, she grabbed her phone, her room key and her sandals.

"I'll be back soon." She told Nattie and Phil as she walked out of the room.

Kate walked down the hall until she reached Paul's room. After some hesitation, she knocked and looked around as she waited for Paul to answer. When he did, they stood in front of each other, waiting for the other to say something. He had on basketball shorts and a black wife beater and looked like he had been roughed up a bit.

She walked in and grabbed his hand while he closed the door behind them and locked it. Following him to the bathroom, she sat on the counter by the sink and let him stand in between the v of her legs. Taking some ice, she wrapped a small towel around it and put it on his hand when she saw that it was red.

"I was about to think that you wouldn't come." He told her as he wrapped his hands around hers. "That you didn't want anything more to do with me tonight."

"My heart wants everything to do with you." She replied softly. "But Stephanie has your heart."

Paul sighed. "She doesn't have my heart, you do. So don't worry about her. Let's just focus on you and me. You're more important to me."

All that Kate wanted was for Paul to take her in his arms and not let her go. She got down from the counter after cleaning up and walked out of the bathroom, and started for the door after getting her things thinking that she couldn't do it. Paul suddenly grabbed her hand gently to keep her from leaving.

"I'm not letting you leave." He told her. "I need to show you something. It's important that I do because I want you to know that I am capable of backing up what I say when it comes to how I feel about you.."

Pulling Kate to him, Paul kissed her and they let the kiss deepen and in turn, making her weak in the knees. If it wasn't for him holding her, she felt like she could have melted right there and then in front of him, with his kiss and his touch. He picked her up without either of them breaking the kiss as he walked to his bed, hearing her sandals drop along the way. He took her phone and her room key, putting it on the bedside table when he laid her down. Taking off his shirt, he went back to kissing her.

0.0

_The next morning..._

"Good morning, Johnathan." Said Stephanie as she caught up to him while he waited for the elevator to go to breakfast in the hotel before leaving.

"Morning, Steph." He replied. "I have something to the extent of what you wanted."

She looked at him already interested. "What'd you find out?"

He smiled. "I was getting something last night, or early this morning, from the vending machines for a late night snack. I couldn't fall asleep so I also took that opportunity to walk around a bit. Wasn't expecting anything to happen. When I'm getting back to my room, I see Kate in the hallway walking over to _Paul's_ room. I didn't think that he would answer the door at first, being that it was a bit past one in the morning."

"That late?" Stephanie asked.

Johnathan nodded. "I triple checked my phone for the time when I saw her. So I stayed behind, making sure she didn't notice me around by hiding around the corner because my room as well as Paul's were right across from each other, on the corner. He opened the door and they grabbed each other's hand as she went inside. I couldn't hear anything that they were saying so they were either very far from the door or in hushed tones. Or both."

"Did you see Kate ever come out?" She asked, more curious than before as they walked out of the elevator.

He shook his head. "I didn't see her come out at all until early this morning. I was awake by seven and when I go out of my room to see if they were giving breakfast yet, I saw her come out of his room and it appeared to be his clothes because what she came out wearing was not what she was wearing last night when she went to see Paul and her hair was wet which could indicate that she showered there. He didn't seem like he wanted to let her go when she was leaving and they both seemed extra happy."

"They slept together." She said without thinking.

Johnathan looked at her. "With all due respect, if they did, it matters because...?"

"You should know why, Johnathan." She replied.

When they got to where they had been giving breakfast, they saw Paul talking to Randy while Kate was with Phil and Natalya eating breakfast. After they had finished talking, Paul went up to where Kate was sitting and put his arms around her. He then whispered something in her ear, making her blush deeply and with a big smile on her face. Kate looked up at him and said something that was followed by a kiss before Paul went to get something from the counter.

As Stephanie looked at Kate while she sat with her friends, she felt the jealousy rise inside her. She thought to herself what Kate could possibly have that she didn't, that made Paul head over heels for her. While Stephanie didn't know the answer to that, she did know that she had to do something to get Paul's complete attention on her instead of Kate.

"I see the little wheels in your head turning, Stephanie." Said Johnathan. "Just be aware that she now has the protection of not only her brother and the people on the roster as well as those working around backstage that love and care for her, but Kate will also have the protection of Paul and if she realizes just how much that protection is worth in this business, she could always decide to use it to her advantage. Kate may be one of the sweetest people out there but she's not dumb. Kate's smarter than you think."

0.0

"Okay, what the hell happened between you two last night?" Asked Phil with a smile. "This is something I wanna know."

"Nothing, we just talked." Said Kate.

Him and Nattie both looked at her. "You expect us to believe that?" They both asked at the same time.

"She came back to the room this morning with his clothes on and her hair was wet, indicating that she showered in his room." Nattie said to Phil. "Because she sure didn't come back in the middle of the night because she wasn't there when I woke up this morning."

Kate smiled and sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you but this does NOT go beyond this table, to anyone. Paul texted me right after Phil had said that he had gotten into a fight. He wanted to talk to me because of something that him and I talked about earlier that night. I went for that reason as well as to see if he was okay. The conversation was the only thing that I was expecting with him and I thought that I would come back to the room after we had finished talking. I was about to leave because I felt like I just couldn't do the conversation at the time and was going to wait for another day to do it. But then one thing led to another and we...made love and I ended up staying the rest of the night. Paul and I did talk though and we figured some things out and got things settled. I showered this morning in Paul's room and he offered to let me wear something of his back to my room."

"It must have been some good love making if ended up staying the night." Said Phil.

"Obviously because I barely got any sleep." Kate replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish packing and then I'm gonna go home and clean and sleep. I'll see you two on Friday in Knoxville."

Kate went back to her room after finishing up and heard a knock a few minutes later. She thought it was Nattie who may have forgotten her key but saw that it was Paul when she opened the door and couldn't help but smile as she let him in.

"I was wondering what you were going to do for the next few days." Said Paul, leaning up against the dresser that was in front of her bed.

She thought for a moment. "I was gonna go back home and find something to do. Dean is on the road with Smackdown and he lives in a different part of Virginia."

"If I come along, we can spend some time together." He said. Kate looked at him with a smile in her eyes. "I could stay in a hotel if you'd like and we can go out as a couple and have a good time. If you don't want to, I completely understand."

Kate thought for a moment and answered without hesitation. "Just so you know, you're staying with me. Not in a hotel. And that sounds like a good plan. Besides, after our little talk last night, I don't think that I can spend time without my boyfriend and not miss him."

He smiled and put his hands on her waist when she walked up to him. "I like the whole 'boyfriend' thing, you know. It sounds really good when you say it."

Kate smiled at him and kissed him. "Am I the girlfriend?

"Of course you are." He replied. "I don't see anyone else having that title for me."

_The next day..._

"Something smells good in here." Says Paul when he walks into the kitchen of Kate's condo in Virginia after his shower. She had surprised him when he came home from the gym when she had just begun to start cooking dinner for the two of them.

She smiled. "Good. It's garlic bread with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and rice with southern style pinto beans."

"I think I'm in love with Southern food." Said Paul, making Kate giggle.

Paul helped set the table and couldn't help but look at her while she finished up with cooking. The tattoo on the back of her shoulder that he saw when she pulled her hair to the side. The warm hazel eyes that looked up at him and made him smile because he finally realized the way that Kate looked at him and the smile that she gave whenever he was around and understood what Phil had meant by it when he told Paul that.

"What did your parents think about working with WWE?" Asked Paul as they ate.

Kate took her time responding, knowing that she had to tell him her situation with her family. "Dean and I were raised with our grandparents. My dad was alcoholic and abusive and when people came by to check, they thought that where we lived wasn't healthy and stable so they put us with our grandparents."

"Did you and Dean ever get to see them?"

Kate nodded. "My dad ended up going to jail for domestic violence and because he was involved in a car accident that killed two people and they found that he was under the influence. He had to go through some kind of twelve step program for that and when they were sure that he was sober and out of jail, they allowed him to see us but it had to be supervised visits. I don't know whatever happened to my mom that we didn't see her again until we finished high school. I haven't talked to either of them since, so it's been about ten years since I've been in contact with them and I always told myself that if they cared about me as much as they claimed that they did, why haven't they been looking for me, I mean, I've been in the same state since I was born."

Paul kissed her cheek, making them turn a shade of pink when he did, because of Kate not expecting it. "They knew that I eventually wanted to work with the WWE at some point in my life. But my parents thought it was a load of crap because they wanted me to have a stable job and not one where I had to be in a different city every single night and being gone for weeks at a time before getting to go back home again for only a few days before having to go back. To them, a woman should be a housewife and cook, clean and take care of the kids and the husband."

"Basically relying on a man for things." Added Paul.

"Exactly." Kate said. "And my dad wanted me to go a local college because he not only wanted me to stay close to home, but he thought that I had no future in the whole being a trainer and doctor thing. I considered it but the only colleges that were close by were community colleges and none of them had what I wanted and needed to major in and a lot of these big universities here in Virginia, I would have literally have to retake about half of the classes that I would have taken in community college because of the specific requirements for what I wanted and it was just a big mess and stress that I didn't need. I would love to get married one day and have a family of my own, but I want to work to and be able to be independent because that's just what I want and I don't see nothing wrong with that."

"That's part of why I like you." Said Paul when he stood up behind her after he finished his food and put his arms around her. "You don't depend on anybody to do things for you because you go out there and do it yourself. You're a strong, beautiful, intelligent, and independent woman and I love that about you."

Kate started feeling those butterflies again as she fell for Paul even more while they laced their fingers together. "You're supposed to say that."

She heard Paul chuckle. "I'm saying it because it's true. I'll happily show you later tonight after we finish watching our movie."

"What if I want you to show me everyday?" She asked.

He kissed her cheek. "I'll show you every single day."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter EIGHT **

Paul and Kate have now been together for over three months and they've enjoyed every second of being a couple. Only a handful of people in WWE knew that they were a couple and they all liked Paul and Kate being together. They all believed that Kate was good for him and so supported their relationship completely. Even Dean who had his doubts when they started getting along, even though he and Paul are good friends, thought that Paul was a good guy for his sister.

Michael Cole, who's one of the announcers for Raw and Smackdown continued to hold interviews with Paul like always and had begun to ask him about the rumors saying that he was in a new relationship and that fact that the rumors had stated that it wasn't with Stephanie McMahon. Wanting to keep their personal life private from the public, knowing that his interviews with Michael would go public and be posted online for everyone to see and talked about on Raw and Smackdown for everyone to know about them whether they saw the interview or not, Paul decided to take his time before addressing the rumors and Kate was okay with that seeing as how she can also be a private person. Paul and Kate have both seen what happens when people know about couples and how much pressure that brings and they didn't want to end up with a failed relationship between them.

"Paul, can you please just address these rumors so that they can stop asking us?" Asked Stephanie, as if pleading with him to put it all out there.

"Stephanie, this isn't your relationship." Said Paul. "This is mine and Kate's."

He heard her sigh. "Exactly. So why wait to tell everyone about the two of you? Besides, I don't get what you see in her anyways since the first day that I started suspecting something of going on between the two of you."

"She's different, Stephanie." He replied. "And I love everything about her and that's a feeling that I never thought I would feel again after you and I divorced. Let me be happy and stay out of my business and Kate and I will tell the world when we're ready. It's not your story to tell. Please respect our privacy."

Paul walked away and saw Kate standing a few feet away. He knew the look on her face was asking if everything was okay. Leaning down to kiss her he told her that it was and to not worry about her. They held hands as they left early to go back to the hotel to call it a night. They had both been on the road nonstop for the last few weeks and they were both tired and stressed and Kate had started to become sick which worried her. Paul had just moved into a new house and Kate found herself spending her days off with him, now that she was officially done with medical school and her residency. Kate was already licensed and board certified and just as Stephanie had promised, she had been promoted to WWE Physician.

She found herself reaching all of those goals that she had set for herself with Paul by her side every step of the way since that day she decided to give him a chance. Kate was now happy that she did because she wouldn't have his love, almost forgetting what it felt like to be in love until Paul and she didn't see herself now without him and his love.

"We get to go home tomorrow night, and relax and maybe you can stay at my place for a while." Said Paul as they drove back to the hotel.

She smiled at him. "That sounds like a good idea. The last time I was there, it was only for one night and I barely got to enjoy everything in your new house."

Paul grinned. "Yes, but I liked being the reason why you didn't. But can it be the reason you do?"

Kate giggled and shook her head. She started feeling sick again and thought it was because she had eaten something that made her sick as well as the stress of being on the road so much added to that, but was happy that she could at least keep down liquids long enough to satisfy her for a while. She was looking forward to her brother's wedding that was coming up in two weeks in Hawaii. Paul, Kate and their friends have already gotten their plane tickets and booked their hotels for the special day and were all excited. They were happy for him and wished many happy years of matrimony for the couple.

0.0

"Have you told him yet?" Asked Nattie, Phil and Kaitlyn as they talked to Kate backstage.

Kate shook her head. "No. I don't know how to tell him. I mean, how do you tell something like that to the person you're in a relationship with especially when we've only been together for as long as we have been?"

"Well, well, well...Look who we have here." Said a voice from a distance. When the four of them looked, they saw that it was Johnathan. "If it isn't the fast rising physician and her little friends."

"Can we help you with something?" Asked Phil. "In case you didn't notice, we're having a conversation here."

He nodded. "I see that but she also needs to be working. I understand that you four are friends, but let's be honest here. We would all feel extremely bad if Kate got demoted back to trainer by Stephanie, because of your conversations and other extracurricular activities while at work."

"It's just an innocent conversation, Johnathan." Said Kate. "This doesn't have to go out of proportion all because you want to be an asshole to people."

He grabbed Kate's wrist and pulled her to him. "You should watch how you talk to me."

All of a sudden, someone forcefully pulled Johnathan back and pushed him up against the wall before they realized that it was Paul who was obviously livid by the look on his face.

"And you should watch who you put your hands on." Said Paul as if reply to what he had said. "No guy, whether they work for WWE or not, will put their hands on her and believe that they'll get away with it, by trying to intimidate her. It's not gonna past me as long as her and I are together. Now I believe that you're a good guy, Johnathan. I really do. But don't play the role of a smart ass with me. Put your hands on her again, and I will see that you get fired from here and if you got a problem with that, then you can quit before I get the chance to do it and you can go back to the independents because I'll make sure that you're not allowed here ever again no matter how great of a wrestler you are. Is that understood because if not, I don't mind making sure that it's understood by you and every guy that's here."

Johnathan made it clear that he understood what Paul had said to him, and was shoved off in the opposite direction by him. Security was seen keeping a distance between the two of them to assure that a fight wouldn't break out or anything other unnecessary situations. Paul walked up to Kate and checked her wrist, while making sure that she was okay. He looked back a few times to make sure that Johnathan had stayed away and now knew that he may have to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't put his hands on her ever again. Kate was a bit shaken up, seeing as how she never had a man put their hands on her in that manner and always told herself that she wouldn't allow a guy to ever do that to her. But in reality, you don't always know what you're going to do in a situation until you're experiencing it yourself instead of being one of the many that watch it from the outside.

"I have an interview with Michael today and I know he's gonna ask about the relationship." Said Paul as they walked to his office.

Kate thought for a moment. It's true that she wanted to keep their relationship away from the public eye, but they can't go much longer, avoiding it. She knew that sooner or later, everyone was going to know that they're together, whether they say anything or not. So Kate made a decision.

"Just tell him if he asks. But I wanna be there."

Paul smiled at her. "Okay, We can do that."

He grabbed her hand and they laced their fingers together as they made their way to where the interview would be held. Once they got there, they started to prepare Paul and Michael for their interview as Michael let him know about the questions that would be asked and in the order that it would go in. Paul gave Kate a quick, but sweet kiss before taking his seat across from Michael. As the interview went on, Kate stood in the background, watching as her boyfriend smiled and laughed with Michael and thought about how much she just loved when he did, especially when he would smile enough to show his dimples but it wasn't long before the questions came up regarding his relationship with her.

0...0

"Now Paul, you know I have to ask...what's your relationship status?"

Paul smiles and looks down for a few seconds before looking back up. "I'm in a relationship with someone and I have been for a while."

"What's her name?" Asks Michael.

"Her name's Katherine but a lot of us call her Kate. She's a physician here in the WWE."

Michael thinks his question through before asking Paul. "A lot of people were saying that if the woman that you're in a relationship with now works in the WWE, that it's to get back at Stephanie. What are your thoughts and opinions on it?"

Paul made a face. "Just because Kate works here in WWE, it doesn't mean that it's because of that reason. It has nothing to do with Stephanie. Reality is this...you can't control who your heart falls for and who it wants. You can't tell you heart: 'Hey, don't fall for this person or that person' and whatnot. That's not how it works. I fell for Kate without any influence from anyone. I'm in love with her and my feelings for her are real. Stephanie has nothing to do it and that's that."

"Did you think that you would ever find love again with someone?"

Paul shook his head. "No, not really. After the divorce, I told myself that I would never be in another relationship with anyone because I didn't want to through that all over again. I didn't want to go through it the first time. Nobody really wants to go through a divorce and a lot of people want their first marriage to be their _only_ marriage, me included. But it obviously didn't work out for Stephanie and I, that way. But after almost two years, I decided to give dating a try and then Kate started working here over a year ago and then I fell for her and here I am."

"Did you ever tell her about what went on between you and Stephanie and how did she take it?" Asked Michael.

"Of course." Replied Paul. "When she started working here, her and I didn't talk to each other at all. It wasn't until we found ourselves talking more and more each day and talking outside of work that I decided that I needed to tell her. I realized that Kate was going to find out eventually someway, somehow. So I made a decision of telling her myself instead of her finding out from another source what had happened. Kate took it pretty well from what I can remember. She's pretty understanding and so I was relieved with that."

Michael smiled and nodded, understanding. "What attracted you to Kate, I mean, what's she like?"

Paul didn't hesitate on answering that question. "At first, it was physically, obviously. I mean, Kate's 5"11', long golden brown hair, and hazel eyes but to me, I find that to be physically beautiful. Another thing is that she's just this strong, intelligent, independent woman and I've always loved that about her and it's something that I've always to be attractive. She's come to know me so well since her and I started talking and she pays more attention to things than what people think she does and pays attention to even the small details. She has this cool, calm and collective side to her and she keeps a straight head and thinks things through rather than just reacting on impulse. Kate also has this beautiful personality and tries to get along with people and has these strong Southern values that she was raised with. Kate's just an amazing person."

"She's the one standing over there, behind us?" He asked.

Paul looked up and smiled happily at her. "Yeah, that's her."

Kate shyly greeted Michael and saw the camera get pointed in her direction and smiled before looking back at Paul. He noticed that Kate always shied away from unexpected attention, but smiled at her, not being able to take his eyes off of the woman that he's in love with and couldn't stop thinking about. He didn't know how he got someone like her, but was glad that he did.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter NINE**

As Dean's wedding approached, Kate's sickness got more frequent. She scheduled an appointment for as soon as she got back home to Virginia, wanting to see what was wrong and wanting to be able to get to Dean's wedding the following week. Paul wouldn't be able to go with her for some work that he needs to do, back in Connecticut. It was somewhat of a relief to Kate because she knew about why it may be that she was getting sick but Paul didn't. He didn't even know that she was still sick because she still hadn't told him. Kate didn't know how to tell Paul what was going on. The last few weeks had been so stressful and tiring for both of them, that they barely had the chance of settling down and relaxing for a while, even when they had the day off.

"You're leaving?" Asked Kaitlyn, as she and Nattie watched Kate pack the last of her things.

"Yeah, I'm catching a plane tonight to go back home." Replied Kate. "My appointment is for tomorrow morning. Paul's driving me to the airport and he won't be able to come with me because he has to be in Connecticut for something and we both need to finish packing for Dean's wedding. I can't miss out on my brother's big day."

Nattie walked up to Kate and gently grabbed her shoulders with a soft smile. "You'll be fine. What you're going through is normal. It may not even last the entire time. And if you need someone, you know you can call the two of us and we'll help you."

"Thank you. Both of you." Said Kate with a big smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you two."

After Kate had finished, she talked for the girls for a few more minutes and left to go meet up with Paul, who she had seen waiting for her outside of the hotel with the car. He helped her put her things in the trunk and went on their way. Paul held her hand like he usually did, when they were in the car and it somehow managed to calm Kate down a bit while her stomach did flips all over the place.

"Will you be able to still come meet up with me so we can go to Hawaii together?" She asked him.

"Of course." He said with a smile. "I'm not leaving with my girl. Has Johnathan been bothering you since the last time?"

She shook his head. "Nope. He hasn't even looked my way anymore."

They got to the airport, and Kate suddenly felt sad. This will be the longest that her and Paul would be apart since they've become a couple. They hugged each other when Paul gave Kate her bags and didn't let go for what seemed like forever.

"Can't you just stay the night with me?" Asked Paul. "I'll take you early tomorrow morning."

Kate pouted. "I have to go now. Besides, technically I'm still living in Virginia with a condo in my name that I still have to take care of. Can't you just have someone else do what you need to do in Connecticut and come with me instead?"

Paul groaned as he dug his face in her neck while he hugged her. "I want you."

"You _do_ have me, baby." She whispered in his ear while she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We'll see each other again at the end of the week and we'll be in Hawaii for Dean and we'll spend time together."

0.0

"Stephanie, we may have a situation here as far as Kate and Paul are concerned." Said Johnathan to Stephanie as he caught up with her in the hallway of the hotel that they were both staying in.

She looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

"After that little incident between her and I, there's a feeling that I have." Said Johnathan. "He's more protective of her and he's serious when he said that he'd fire me if I did it again. I'm not risking my job, just because of something that I said or did to Paul's girlfriend. No guy who works in the WWE wants to no matter how much they like her and believe me, he'll make sure that something happens to those who do something to her that he doesn't like."

Stephanie thought for a moment. "Here I thought she wasn't causing any problems."

Johnathan spoke up again. "She's not causing any problems. Kate's one of the sweetest people I've ever met and people love her and she always tries to get along with people. But you can't forget that she's in a relationship with Paul and he will protect her whether he's the COO or not. He made it very clear that day about what'll happen if we mess with her. And I'm not gonna do that so we'll have to find another way if you really want Paul back."

"We'll think of something. They've only been together for a few months. It's not like they've been together for years or have something to keep them together anyways." Replied Stephanie. "We need to at least try to do something. It needs to be something that will at least make some kind of impact, whether it be good or bad. I need to separate those two as soon as possible. I can't stand seeing them together."

Johnathan sighed and thought for a moment. "Well, both of them won't be back until next week. That gives us some time to think things through before they come back so that when they do, we can set things in motion. But don't say nothing to anybody about this because Kate has a lot of friends around here. Someone will open their mouth to say something to her and it'll get to Paul without a doubt. That should be clear to us, no matter what."

_A week and a half later..._

"Hey, Buddy." Said Paul when he greeted Shawn near his office backstage.

They goofed off a bit before settling down a bit to talk in Paul's office as they sat across from each other. They both loved when they hung out together, even if it was for a few moments. Their friendship had persevered this long and they were both planning on making it last another twenty years.

"So what happened after you two got back from Hawaii?" Asked Shawn. "I know you said that your mom wanted to meet Kate after you got back home from the wedding and I haven't seen her to ask how it went."

Paul unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat back. "It went better than I thought it would. My parents loved her. Though my mom was as king her a bit to many questions."

Shawn smiled. "What's this glowing thing that you told me about?"

"I don't know." Replied Paul. "Kate's just been glowing. In a good way, of course. She's probably just in a good mood, right?"

He laughed. "You're asking _me_? Kate's _your _girlfriend, Paul. You know her better than I do."

Paul couldn't help but let out a chuckle of his own. He shrugged and thought for a moment until John Cena came running into his office. Paul shot up from his chair, wondering what was going on.

"It's Kate." Said John. "She fainted and they have her in the trainer's room with the physicians trying to check on her. They said she was throwing up severely not to long before that."

Without hesitation or doubt, Paul ran out of his office and straight to where they had Kate and stormed into the room without caring about what others thought or caring about the privacy that was wanted to work on her. He stood by Kate's side and held her hand, seeing that she was still unconscious and wasn't showing any signs of coming to.

"Can we work any faster?!" Exclaimed Paul, more worried than he's ever been in his life about anything. "Do what you have to do to help her!"

"Paul, we have to get her to the hospital." Said one of the physicians that were there by his side. "We can only do so much here. Kate will be able to get better treatment at a hospital where they'll be able to provide more for her and perform more tests to fully make sure that she's okay."

He just looked at him in shock and then at Kate. "But I need to know that she's okay, _now. _Not hours from now at a hospital."

The physician's face softened. "I'm sorry, Paul. But we should get her to the hospital and have someone who knows what happened to go with her so that they can explain what they know happened. We can only do so much here to help out. If we ever feel that someone needs to go to a medical facility for further evaluation or treatment, then we need to send them. That's the case here, with Kate. We'll call for an ambulance right away."

He gave Kate one more look and felt his brain go blank. Paul knew that he was right about getting her to a hospital, but for some reason felt powerless because he felt like he couldn't do anything to help out the woman that he's in love with. Now he had to give the news to her brother, Dean, who was still on his honeymoon and wouldn't be back until the end of the week. He knew that Kate never wanted Dean to worry about her over anything, but he thought that this was something that her brother needed to be here for. Kate is his family.

After getting his things, he was notified of the ambulance that had come for Kate and went in the ambulance with her and Nattie who was with her when she fainted. He held her hand on the way to the hospital and stroke her knuckles softly. One of the EMT's were checking her vitals while the other drove to the hospital. Paul heard the EMT asking Nattie some questions but all Paul could think about was if she was okay. The EMT wasn't telling him anything, and he grew more worried with each minute that passed.

Once getting to the hospital, both EMT's took her in with Paul and Nattie following them, and saw the doctor's being told what was going on and filling them in on what they needed to know and took her into one of the open rooms.

"Can you please tell us what's wrong with her?" Asked Paul, getting impatient when he saw the two EMT's walk by.

"Sir, we're not doctors." Replied one of them, who was a bit shorter and smaller than Paul. "You'll have to talk to whomever her physician is today."

Paul took off his suit jacket and threw it on the floor in frustration. He leaned up against the wall and dug his face into his hands. He felt Nattie's warm hand on his arm.

"Kate's going to be okay." She told him. "But she's going to need you to be strong for her right now no matter how hard it is for us to see her like this."

A few hours later, a doctor walked up to them with a chart. By that time, Shawn had come with Kaitlyn and Phil to see Kate. Paul stood up to see if he could find out anything and hoping that it was good news if they had something.

"She's going to be fine." Was the first thing that the doctor had told them and Paul let out a sigh of relief and felt as if he had been holding his breath in for hours.

"What's wrong with her?" They asked.

The doctor took them to a private area to talk to them and so that others won't hear. "Ms. Wesley is dehydrated. Because of her vomiting so much, she's lost a lot of liquids and she hasn't been able to keep down a lot of the nutrients that she needs and she seems to have lost some weight because of it. Looking at her medical history, she's very healthy. So to find out exactly what's causing this, we drew some blood and we're currently running some tests to see if anything comes back out of the ordinary. We should get the results back very shortly."

"So what's being done to her now?" Asked Paul.

"We're currently giving her some fluids through an IV." Replied the doctor. "We've been able to subside the vomiting for now. Her vitals are stable and everything else seems to be fine for now. She's going strong, so there's nothing to worry about."

"When can we see her?" Asked Phil.

The doctor took them to where they had Kate and saw that she was awake. Paul was the first one to walk in and gently gave her a hug when the doctor walked out. Kate didn't want to let him go and was noticeably shaking. They shared a kiss as Paul whispered to her. Everyone was glad to see that she was okay and doing better.

"Do you know what could be making you sick like this?" Asked Shawn.

Kate looked around and looked at her three best friends. They had an idea of why she may have been so sick. She, herself, knew more than anyone else why she had gotten sick. "Can I talk to Paul alone, please?"

When they left, Paul grabbed her hand as she felt a lump in her throat, and tears threatening to run down her face. She tried to hide it, but she knew that it wouldn't take Paul much long to notice and she could tell when he did because of the look on his face when he finally noticed.

"I didn't want to tell you in this way." Said Kate. "I wanted it to be more romantic when I told you. Not when I'm in the hospital because of it."

Paul looked confused. "Babe, what are you talking about?"

Tears streamed down her face as she prepared to tell him. "Paul...I'm pregnant."


End file.
